Ready to travel alone?

Solo travel is a big deal in the news lately.

Published 02.19.2016

Solo travel is a big deal in the news lately. Publications rave about how empowering the experience can be for women - or for anyone - and it's true. Setting out alone to someplace you've never been before can teach you a lot about yourself and what you are really capable of doing if you set your mind to it. It's also rare to have time apart from the responsibilities of work, friends and family all at once, leaving you time to get centered and reconnect to yourself. The popular image of solo travel depends a lot on sun-soaked beaches and exotic corners of the Caribbean or southeast Asia, but this doesn't have to be the case. Where you go alone is up to you (and you alone). If beaches and all-night partying aren't your thing and an ashram isn't either, there are plenty of other alternatives.

Consider Norway Recently, Travel + Leisure released its list of the best places for solo travelers, and Norway made the second spot. It ranks highly for happiness and for safety, two important factors. Safety is of course one of the first concerns for solo travelers, especially if they're embarking on their first trip alone. Happiness is a good thing to check on, too, because a genial population means more opportunities to socialize and an easier time feeling welcome. The magazine also highlighted the Hurtigruten route as the best way to take in the country alone, as it lets you experience everything from big cities to tiny port towns and takes care of your accommodation and board for one price.

Keep an adventurous outlook No matter what it involves, solo travel will always require you to be a little more flexible and independent than travel with a companion. If these are traits you're looking to cultivate for yourself in your daily life, traveling alone on a Norway cruise is a great way to start practicing them. Use every excursion as an opportunity to really experience something new and let yourself be surprised by what the world has to offer. Make a point of dining with other passengers if they invite you to do so and be open to making new connections with people around you, fellow travelers and locals alike. You might find solo travel changes your life, as many people attest, or at least that it brings out the best in you.